Dragoș Andrei Cantea is an artistic result of the Iași music schools, having been mentored by Ioana Stănescu between 1999 and 2017, during both his pre-university studies and his bachelor’s and first master’s degrees. This period laid the foundation of his artistic development, resulting in dozens of awards at international competitions, as well as solo recitals and symphonic concerts on major stages in Romania.

He is a triple graduate of the “George Enescu” National University of Arts (UNAGE) in Iași, completing his bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees under the guidance of the VOCES Quartet maestro, Dan Prelipcean.

Dragoș is also an alumnus of the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo, where he studied with Håvard Gimse and Kathryn Stott between 2017 and 2021, graduating with the interdisciplinary project “Nationalism in Music – An Artistic-Diplomatic Tool for Understanding Common Values.”

As a concert pianist, Dragoș has been invited to perform with major philharmonics in Romania, including those in Iași, Bacău, Oradea, Timișoara, Sibiu, and Brașov. Internationally, he has given symphonic concerts and recitals at St. James’ Piccadilly in London, the Norwegian National Opera in Oslo, the Canadian National Opera in Toronto, and Temppeliaukio in Helsinki. He has collaborated with conductors such as Cristian Mandeal, Fergus MacAlpine, Vlad Vizireanu, Pawel Kapula, and Theo Wolters and has performed chamber music alongside renowned musicians like Hyeyoon Park, Wen-Sinn Yang, and Kathryn Stott.

In 2017, he founded DAC Music Performance in Oslo, an organization through which he manages cultural programs for Norwegian companies. He contributes to the implementation of innovative artistic initiatives and bilateral relations with other states under the aegis of the Norwegian Arts Council.

Dragoș’s broader cultural development includes participation in mentorship programs and scholarships such as Roche Continents (2018), Act in Art (2019), and the Rising Leaders programme of the U.S. Embassy in Norway.

Since 2020, Dragoș has been the co-founder and artistic director of Classix, now recognized as the most prominent independent classical music event in Northeast Romania.

In the field of pedagogy, he is a guest lecturer at the Music Academies in Oslo and Vaasa (Finland) and conducts masterclasses in Finland, Romania, and Singapore, also serving on juries for international piano competitions.

In 2023, he was appointed honorary advisor to the Romanian Ministry of Culture, and in 2024, he published a comprehensive study titled “The Complete Piano Works of Leoš Janáček: Transcendence through Programmaticism” with Editura Muzicală and Artes Publishing House.